The History of Joust: Williams’ Flying Ostrich Classic

Joust arrived in arcades in 1982 with a premise that was, by even arcade standards of the era, strange: knights riding flying ostriches and buzzards, jousting in midair. It worked. The game became one of Williams’ most enduring titles and introduced cooperative two-player gameplay that influenced the genre for years to come. Joust history is a story about an arcade game that should not have worked and did anyway.

The origin at Williams

Joust was developed by Williams Electronics and released in 1982. The game came out of the same development environment at Williams that had produced Defender and Stargate. By 1982, Williams had built a reputation for difficult, technically ambitious arcade games, and Joust continued that tradition with a premise that was anything but conventional.

The lead designer was John Newcomer. The team wanted to make a flying game but specifically avoid the science-fiction setting that dominated the era. Their solution was a mythical-medieval theme with riders on giant birds. The flying ostrich emerged as a distinctive visual that no other arcade game had touched, and it became the game’s defining image.

How it played

The screen showed a collection of stone platforms suspended over a lava pit. The player controlled a knight riding a flying ostrich (or, for the second player, a yellow stork). The knight could flap to fly higher and walk on platforms when on the ground. Enemies — knights riding buzzards — flew around the screen, and the player’s job was to destroy them by colliding lance-first while at a higher altitude than the enemy.

The combat rule was elegant. When two flying knights collided, whichever was higher at the moment of impact won; the loser was knocked off their mount. The defeated rider became an egg, which fell to a platform and would hatch into a new enemy if not collected first. Collecting eggs added points and removed potential future enemies; failing to collect them quickly meant the egg hatched into a tougher, faster enemy than the one it came from.

The control scheme was unusual. The player had a joystick for left-right movement and a single button for “flap.” Each flap raised the bird a small amount; gravity pulled it down between flaps. To fly higher, the player had to flap repeatedly. To stay aloft, they had to flap rhythmically. To fly fast, they had to time their flaps just right. The button-mashing-as-flight mechanic was genuinely new and demanded a different kind of motor skill than most arcade games.

The two-player co-op

Joust was one of the first arcade games to feature simultaneous two-player cooperative play. Both players were on the screen at the same time, both fighting the same waves of enemies, both collecting eggs, both vulnerable to the same hazards. Players could also attack each other if they wanted — the game didn’t enforce cooperation, just made it possible.

That co-op design was unusual in 1982. Most two-player arcade games of the era alternated turns: one player played, died, and handed off to the other. Joust let both players play at once, which transformed the social dynamic of the cabinet. Two friends could share an arcade experience in real time, working together (or undermining each other) through the increasingly chaotic later levels.

The cooperative design influenced subsequent multiplayer arcade games significantly. Many later co-op titles cite Joust as a foundational example. The cabinet’s two-control-layout itself became more common after Joust demonstrated it could be commercially successful.

The enemy progression

The enemies in Joust came in three main types: bounders, hunters, and shadow lords. Bounders were the basic enemy — slow and predictable, with the lowest lance height. Hunters were faster and more aggressive. Shadow lords were the toughest enemy, requiring sustained attention to defeat. Each higher tier appeared later in the game’s progression, mixed with the lower tiers to create increasingly chaotic screens.

The progression also introduced environmental hazards. The pterodactyl appeared after a certain time in any level — a fast, almost invulnerable enemy that pursued the player aggressively. Skilled players knew specific patterns for dispatching pterodactyls (a precise lance hit to the open beak), but until those patterns were learned, the pterodactyl was a level-ending event.

The lava troll was another environmental threat. If the player flew too low over the lava pit, a hand emerged from the lava and grabbed the bird, dragging it down. Skilled players learned to flap free of the troll’s grip with rapid button presses, but a casual encounter usually ended in a lost life.

Why the design worked

Joust worked because the core combat rule — height wins — was instantly readable and infinitely deep. New players understood it within their first death. Veteran players developed strategies around vertical positioning, flap timing, and platform usage that went far beyond the basic rule. The skill ceiling was high without the entry barrier being prohibitive.

The co-op design added social depth. Two-player Joust was different from one-player Joust in ways that mattered. Coordinated players could clear levels efficiently; uncoordinated players could trip each other up. The game’s tolerance for both styles — neither punishing nor mandating cooperation — gave it a flexibility that pure competitive or pure cooperative designs would have lacked.

The legacy

Joust has been re-released across many compilation packs and remains a recognized classic. The original arcade hardware is well-preserved in many classic arcades, and the gameplay has aged better than most of its 1982 contemporaries because the mechanics weren’t built around any particular technology trick. The flap-and-joust formula works in any rendering, on any control device.

A sequel — Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest — followed in 1986 and added 3D-look graphics and transformation mechanics. It was a respectable follow-up but didn’t match the original’s cultural footprint. The Joust Wikipedia article covers the full sequel lineage and the various home ports of the original.

Home ports and modern access

Joust was ported to most home systems of the early-to-mid 1980s, with versions appearing on the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, NES, and others. The Atari 2600 port was particularly well-regarded — it captured the gameplay essence cleanly despite the hardware’s limitations. The NES version, which came later, was a faithful reproduction of the arcade experience.

In the modern era, Joust appears in various Midway / Williams compilation packs on current platforms. Browser-friendly clones and reimplementations also exist for anyone who wants a quick fix without firing up an emulator.

Why Joust still matters

Joust matters because it demonstrated that arcade games could push past the safe genres of space and combat without losing commercial viability. A knight on an ostrich was as far from “Space Invaders” as you could get in 1982, and the game’s success encouraged other developers to take similar swings on unusual premises.

The co-op gameplay also mattered. Joust’s two-player design is one of the genealogical ancestors of all modern co-op games. The principle — both players in the same space, contributing to the same goals — runs through every co-op title that has followed.

Frequently asked questions

Who made Joust?

Joust was developed by Williams Electronics and released in 1982. John Newcomer is widely credited as the lead designer.

How does combat work in Joust?

When two flying knights collide, the one at a higher altitude at the moment of impact wins. The loser is knocked off their mount and becomes an egg, which can be collected for points before it hatches into a new enemy.

What’s the flap button in Joust?

The flap button raises the player’s bird a small amount each time it’s pressed. To fly higher or stay aloft, the player has to press the button repeatedly with the right timing. It’s an unusual control scheme that demands a specific kind of rhythmic motor skill.

Is Joust a cooperative game?

It can be. Joust supports simultaneous two-player gameplay, and players can choose to cooperate against the enemies or fight each other. The game doesn’t enforce either mode — both styles are viable.

Can I still play Joust today?

Yes. Joust has been re-released in multiple Williams and Midway arcade compilation packs on current platforms and is also playable through emulation. The original arcade cabinet appears at some classic-arcade venues.

The takeaway

Joust is a piece of arcade design that’s lasted because the rules are clean and the premise is irresistible. A knight on a flying ostrich is the kind of idea that has to be seen to be understood, and once seen, doesn’t leave. The cooperative two-player mode was ahead of its time and seeded a whole genre. For a different kind of single-screen arcade distraction, the Chrome Dino game is a tab away — no buzzards, no lava, just cacti.